https://socialistaction.org/2018/08/14/unionization-drive-is-repressed-in-shenzhen-china/
Unionization drive is repressed in Shenzhen, China
/ 1 hour ago
Sept. 2018 china workers
By JOHN LESLIE
Facing poor working conditions and mistreatment that made workers feel
“like slaves,” workers at Jasic Technologies are attempting to form a
union in Shenzhen, China. On May 10, a delegation of workers delivered a
petition to the company and the officially recognized Workers Union.
After first expressing support for the workers’ effort to organize, the
Pingshan District Federation of Trade Unions turned against the worker
organizers, declaring their unionization drive to be illegal. As many as
89 workers had signed petitions signaling their intent to unionize.
According to the website Rights Network, the workers face fines, lost
wages, benefit cuts, and blacklisting at the hands of management. At
least one worker, Yu Yuncong, was beaten by a supervisor.
According to the China Labour Bulletin: “In a now deleted open letter on
social media, worker organiser Mi Jiuping thanked their supporters and
emphasised that ‘the right to unionise is protected by Chinese law and
workers are only exercising their legally entitled right.’”
In June, management rigged the election of a company union run by
hand-picked cronies. Since the law can only recognize the existence of
one union in any given workplace, the official union turned against the
rank-and-file effort. Company goons attacked individual union
supporters. Seven workers involved in the independent organizing effort
were fired, and more than 30 supporters of the workers—some of them
Maoist intellectuals, retired Communist Party members, and student
activists—were arrested. Family members of the workers were also
detained by police who raided their homes. On July 20, worker organizers
Mi Jiuping and Liu Penghua were beaten by police after security guards
threw them out of the factory.
According to a source, a woman was forcibly separated from her infant,
and an organizer of the solidarity effort was “disappeared” by “unknown
persons.” Fourteen supporters remained in jail as of Aug. 7.
During a demonstration outside of the police station, recently released
union supporters declared: “Being released is just the beginning of our
struggle, and we will continue to fight! Firmly uphold the legitimate
rights and interests of workers! Insist on forming a union! Show the
power of our Chinese workers!”
Overall uptick in class struggle in China
There has been an increase in workplace actions and strikes this year,
with more than 400 strikes in the first months of 2018 alone. This is an
increase over the same period last year. There has been a steady growth
of strike actions from just 200 in 2011 to 1256 in 2017. Additionally,
courts deal with hundreds of thousands of labor disputes annually.
Strike actions are not restricted to the manufacturing sector and can be
found in white-collar, service, transportation, and e-commerce settings.
Wage theft is a common cause of job actions, with workers having few
legal or contractual protections. In January 2018, teachers gathered in
Beijing to demand the recovery of pensions that have been stolen.
The Chinese state has responded to these actions with repression,
including arrests and physical abuse. All of this is happening in the
context of growing income inequality, austerity measures, factory
closings, rising unemployment, and housing prices becoming increasingly
unaffordable for the average worker.
Build solidarity with Jasic Technologies workers!
Unions, human rights organizations, and the socialist movement should
build solidarity with Chinese workers’ struggles. Support for the right
to organize at Jasic Technologies is an urgent task. We call on all
labor, student, human rights, and socialist organizations to support
these beleaguered workers.
We demand the immediate release of all of the arrested and disappeared.
All fired workers must be reinstated with compensation for lost pay.
Police and company thugs must be punished. The workers must have the
right to form an independent union without company or government harassment.
Photo from Rights Network.
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August 14, 2018 in China, Labor.
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